There are many types of archery bow sights. An archery bow sight enables an archer to position the bow so that it will launch an arrow and hit a target at a given distance from the archer. Without a bow sight, the archer must "instinctively" guess where the bow should be positioned to shoot an arrow so that it will hit the target.
Most archery bow sights are adjustable to compensate for numerous variables that affect arrow trajectory. Some of these variables include the characteristics of the bow and arrow, the archer, and the shooting method employed by the archer. Any variation of one of these variables will potentially change arrow flight. An adjustable archery bow sight enables a sight device (such as a sight pin or cross hair) on the archery bow sight to be adjusted to compensate for such variables so that the arrow strikes a target at a given distance when the corresponding sight device is aimed at the target.
Many traditional archery bow sights include multiple sight devices. The sight devices typically are adjusted to correspond with various target distances at certain intervals (e.g., ten yards, twenty yards, thirty yards, etc.). In view of the sensitivity of the bow to the aforementioned variables, adjustments of these sight devices is often necessary.
Efforts have been made to develop archery bow sights with a single, adjustable sight device for referencing a target spaced from the archer. These types of bow sights prevent the archer from placing the wrong sight pin on the target. One such adjustable archery bow sight is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,837. This type of bow sight enables the archer to move the sight device through a range of movement to correspond with several different target distances. The sight device will preferably move within a range of movement from a point referencing a target at a relatively close range (e.g., ten yards) to a point referencing the archer's maximum effective range (e.g., forty or fifty yards).
Prior archery bow sights have yet to provide a means for adjusting the range of movement of a movable sight device to compensate for the variables of the bow, the arrows, and the shooter. For example, an archery bow that launches arrows at a high velocity will require a movable sight device to pass through a relatively small range of movement to reference targets distances of ten, twenty, and thirty yards, as compared to an archery bow that launches arrows at a relatively slower velocity.
Most traditional sights are cumbersome and difficult to adjust. Typically, the adjustment process requires at least two hands: one to loosen the sight device, and a second hand to stabilize and move the sight device once it has been loosened, and to hold the sight device until it is secured in place by the first hand.
This method results in imprecise and nonincremental adjustments because the distance the sight device is moved cannot be quantified or duplicated exactly. Instead, the person adjusting the sight must guess how much the sight device should be moved. Over-adjustments are commonly made which require the sight device to be moved back toward its original position. Again, the person making the adjustments must guess as to how far the sight device must be moved.
There remains a need, therefore, to provide an archery bow sight which is easy to use, includes a minimal number of working parts, and has an adjustable range of movement. There is also a need to provide an archery bow sight which is controllably and incrementally adjustable.